ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
15TH EDITION OF INDO - NEPAL JOINT EXERCISE SURYA KIRAN TO COMMENCE FROM 20 SEPTEMBER AT PITHORAGARH 
15th Edition of Indo - Nepal Joint Military Training, Exercise Surya Kiran between Indian Army and Nepali Army is commencing from 20 September 2021 at Pithoragarh . During this exercise, an Infantry Battalion from Indian Army and an equivalent strength from Nepali Army would be sharing their experiences gained during the conduct of various counter-insurgency operations over a prolonged period in their respective countries.
As part of the exercise, both the Armies would familiarise themselves with each other’s weapons, equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures of operating in a counter-insurgency environment in mountainous terrain. Also, there would be a series of Expert Academic Discussions on various subjects such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, High Altitude Warfare, Jungle Warfare etc. The joint military training would culminate with a gruelling 48 hours exercise to validate the performance of both the armies in counter-insurgency in mountainous terrain. The exercise is part of an initiative to develop inter-operability and sharing expertise between the two nations.
This joint military training will go a long way in improving bilateral relations and also will be a major step towards further strengthening the traditional friendship between the two nations. Last edition of Exercise Surya Kiran was conducted in Nepal in 2019.
Ministry of Steel
NMDC signs MoU with IIT Kharagpur for Drone-Based Mineral Exploration
National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. , Country’s largest Iron Ore producer, a CPSE under Ministry of Steel signed a MoU on Wednesday with IIT Kharagpur for drone-based mineral exploration. NMDC has been exploring minerals for six decades for a wide range of minerals such as Copper, Rock phosphate, Limestone, magnesite, Diamond, Tungsten and Beach sands amongst others right from the reconnaissance G4 level to the detailed G1 Level of UNFC.
The MoU for ‘Drone-Based Mineral Exploration’ was signed on a virtual platform which was attended by Shri Sumit Deb, CMD; Shri Amitava Mukherjee, Director ; Shri Somnath Nandi, Director ; Shri D.K.Mohanty, Director  from NMDC and professors from IIT Kharagpur. The said MoU was signed on behalf of NMDC by Shri DK Mohanty, Director  and on behalf of IIT Kharagpur by Prof. S.P.Sharma, HoD, Department of Geology & Geophysics and Prof. Samir K Pal, HoD, Department of Mining Engineering.
Shri Sumit Deb, CMD, NMDC said, “NMDC would be the first CPSE in India to conduct Drone-based Geophysical Surveys and Hyperspectral Studies for Mineral Exploration in the country. NMDC’s tie up with IIT-Kharagpur will open a new chapter and set a benchmark in the field of mineral exploration for the nation.”
NMDC is conducting exploration for various minerals in the State of Madhya Pradesh and also in the Beloda-Belmundi block in Chhattisgarh for Diamonds. NMDC is also the first CPSE to use Space Geophysics in Central Indian Diamond Province and the first to use online monitoring of exploration of data on the BHUVAN platform. NMDC is increasingly relying on technological innovation and digitalization of its database related to exploration and mining.
With the launch of a policy on Drones, the Government has taken the first step to regulate and monitor drone usage and operations in India which are currently being used in the fields of agriculture, urban planning, forestry, mining, disaster management, surveillance, transport etc.
NMDC and IIT Kharagpur would develop spectral products, methods and algorithms for exploration using the Drone  for mining. The collaboration between NMDC and IIT Kharagpur would further lead to the development of software spectral tools for mineral excavation and capacity building programs on mining technology.
Prime Minister's Office
PM appreciates IIP for conveying the story of UPI and digital payments through data sonification
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has appreciated the India in Pixels  for conveying the point of digital payments and UPI through the sound of money transacted through data sonification.
In response to a tweet by India in Pixels, the Prime Minister said;
"I’ve spoken about UPI and Digital Payments quite often but I really liked how you’ve used the sound of money transacted through data sonification to effectively convey the point.
Very interesting, impressive and obviously informative!"
Ministry of Tourism
Take advantage of the Amritkal and become a master in the development of the country – Shri G Kishan Reddy
The Union Minister called upon the youth who got job appointment letters in the Rozgar Mela to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Centre
Modi government is moving ahead with the target of 10 lakh jobs in 10 months – Shri Kishan Reddy
Shri Kishan Reddy participates in the Rozgar Mela held at SVIT Auditorium, Secunderabad
Rozgar Melas are held at 45 places across the country
The Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern States, Shri G. Kishan Reddy has called upon the youth to embrace opportunities in the Amritkaal and become masters in the development of the country. He was addressing the Rozgar Mela held at Swami Vivekananda Institute of Technology, Secunderabad and handed over appointment letters to 232 candidates who got Central Government jobs in various departments in and round Hyderabad. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rozgar Mela virtually from Delhi to hand over appointment letters to 71 thousand candidates who got jobs in various Central Government departments across the country.
Speaking on this occasion, Shri Kishan Reddy said that Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has set a target of filling up 10 lakh central government jobs in the next 10 months and already 3 lakh 60 thousand jobs have been filled. It is for this purpose that every month Rozgar Mela is organized and the Prime Minister himself is participating in this program.
The Union Minister said that the next 25 years are crucial for our country and we are providing all kinds of facilities right now. We are celebrating 75 years of Independence. India recently became the most populous country in the world. We are also the country with the most youth. Hoisting the flag on the Red Fort, Modi said that 100 years of Independence Day will be celebrated in the next 25 years. He wanted to put the country in the place of Vishwaguru by that time. Youth are coming forward to do something for the country. In the days to come, they will be the key to the country's progress, said Shri Kishan Reddy.
Shri Kishan Reddy said that the Prime Minister Shri Modi visited Bharat Biotech Company in Hyderabad during Corona. Efforts were made to bring the vaccine. When Vajpayee was the prime minister, the cell phone that started has now reached even a rickshaw puller. There were two cell phone manufacturing companies in India when Shri Modi took office as Prime Minister. Now we are providing cell phones worth 18 thousand crores to the world. Apple phones are manufactured by 4 companies in India.
Shri Kishan Reddy said that Kashmir issue, ISI and terrorism have declined in the country under Shri Modi's rule. 25 thousand MBBS students who were stuck due to the war between Russia and Ukraine were brought safely to India after talking to both countries. Modi has done so much for the country. That is why the youth should consider these jobs as a service, said Kishan Reddy.
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Production linked incentive scheme for Food Processing Industry
On 31st March 2021, the Union Cabinet approved the Central Sector Scheme - "Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry " with an outlay of Rs. 10,900 crores, to be implemented from 2021-22 to 2026-27. The scheme consists of three components: incentivizing manufacturing in four major food product segments , promoting Innovative/Organic products of SMEs, and supporting branding and marketing abroad for Indian brands. Additionally, the PLI Scheme for Millet-based Products  was launched in the FY 2022-23 with an outlay of ₹800 crore, utilizing the savings under PLISFPI.
Under the scheme, 158 applications have been approved for availing incentives. As per the information received, the beneficiaries have invested 7,427.22 crore  under the scheme. So far, incentive of 517.604 Crore has been disbursed for the Financial Year 2021-22.
The Government is fully aware of the potential issues that could arise from the PLISFPI scheme. To ensure its effectiveness and fairness, proactive measures were taken during the scheme formulation stage. Various stakeholders were actively engaged, and an extensive consultative process was followed, involving large-scale manufacturers, SMEs, etc. As a result, the scheme guidelines ensure the scheme benefits all stakeholders, including farmers.
Category-II of the PLI scheme, with a specific focus on Innovative and Organic products, is exclusively for eligible MSMEs. 16 applications have been selected under this particular category. Additionally, 22 applicants  selected to participate under PLI Scheme for Millet-based products are MSMEs. Apart from the PLI scheme, the government has introduced several other schemes to offer support across entire food value chain, which also helps SMEs in meeting international quality and safety standards for their food products.
The scheme guidelines specify that the entire manufacturing process, including primary processing, of the food products eligible for coverage under the scheme must occur in India, with the exception of additives, flavors, and edible oils. This approach aims to foster a strong value chain that benefits farmers and supports domestic production. These guidelines ensure farmer inclusivity, particularly for small-scale farmers, by guaranteeing remunerative prices for farm produce and higher income.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
India Post offices to facilitate last-mile use of GeM portal
Nearly 5.2 lakh Common Service Centres and 1.5 lakh India Post offices across India will assist last-mile Government buyers, sellers and service providers with buyer-seller registration, product catalogue upload and management, order acceptance, fulfilment and invoice generation functionality on the GeM portal the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel said in reply to a parliamentary question today.
By providing hyper-local assistance to under-served seller groups namely Women, Khadi and Tribal entrepreneurs, Micro & Small Enterprises [MSE], Self-Help Groups [SHGs], Farmer Producer Organizations [FPO], Startups, Artisans and Weavers, Divyangjan craftsmen and bamboo producers through Common Service Centres, in-field training and other support services during their onboarding and transaction journeys, GeM strives to provide
- These under-served seller groups with direct access to Government markets and buyers at improved product market prices sans intermediaries, and
- thereby spurring hyper-local job-creation and wealth-generation in rural India.
Last-mile stakeholders such as Local Bodies, Panchayati Raj institutions, among others and under-served seller groups in rural areas and stakeholders’ such as schools, colleges, scientific and technical research institutions, and universities, among others in public procurement will benefit from this joint effort.
Types of facilities which would be provided by the Department include:
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- Value-added services such as photography of product images, packaging, logistics and shipment of packages through Speed Post and Business Parcel, through India Post website, online, print and office communication channels will also be delivered to sellers and service providers at charges defined by CSC and Department of Posts. GeM Services offered through Common Service Centres [CSC] will be made available to all Government buyers at no charge.
- Rates for packaging materials and shipment of packages through Speed Post and Business Parcel through India Post website, online, print and office communication channels will be shared with CSCs.
- No Charges will be levied for;
- Buyer Registration – for single-state and multi-state Cooperative Societies, and
- Seller Registration and Account Updation 
- Nominal charges to paid by sellers and service providers for:
- Product/ Service Catalogue Upload & Management, and
- Value-added Services 
Pre-requisites for seller registration include;
- Aadhaar Number/ Virtual ID/ Personal PAN of the User.
- Mobile number linked with Aadhaar/ Mobile number in case of PAN.
- Active Email ID.
- Documents as per Constitution/ Business type such as CIN, PAN, DIPP, Udyam Number, ITR details to complete profile.
- Address details .
- Bank account details.
Special Service and Features
Sri Lankan boat transporting 100 kgs of Hashish and 150 kgs Methamphetamine intercepted in Indian waters
Six Sri Lankan Nationals arrested in this connection
Acting on a specific intelligence received by Indian Coast Guard and Narcotics Control Bureau, on 07.03.2021 Indian Coast Guard intercepted a Sri Lankan fishing boat Akarsha Duwa in Indian waters off the coast of Vizhinjam, Kerala. On 08.03.2021, the boat was brought to Vizhinjam harbour and NCB Kochi Subzonal Unit took over the custody of the boat and its six Sri Lanakan occupants. A thorough search of the boat was carried out by NCB team and nothing suspicious was found. However, during investigation, all six of the Sri Lankan fishermen admitted to have procured 100 Kgs of Hashish and 150 Kgs of Methamphetamine at high seas from a Pakistani fishing vessel. While on their way back to Sri Lanka, the Indian Coast Guard ships approached them and seeing the Coast Guard ships, the Sri Lankans jettisoned the contraband. The contraband was packed in 250 packets and kept in 5 bundles. Based on the material evidences collected and their voluntary statements under NDPS Act, all the six Sri Lankan sailors, namely T. Kurera, W. Fernando ,C. Deshappiya, M. Jayathissa , W. Sadaruwan and W Arunakumar have been arrested for attempt to traffic substances under NDPS Act in Indian territorial waters.
NCB acknowledges the dedicated efforts of Sh. Amit Ghawate , Suresh Kumar , Shanmugham , Mathew Varghese , Samson Samuel , Ravi Kumar  and other officers associated to the case at NCB, Chennai Zonal Unit. This is stated in a press release issued by Shri Amit Ghawate, Zonal Director NCB Chennai.
Ministry of Railways
Kisan Rail Yojana
Under the Kisan Rail Project, Railways have so far operated Kisan Rail services on the following routes:
- Devlali/Sangola  to Danapur/Muzaffarpur 
- Anantpur  to Adarsh Nagar 
- Yeshwantpur  to Hazrat Nizamuddin 
- Warud/Nagpur  to Adarsh Nagar 
- Chhindwara  to Howrah 
- Sangola  to Howrah 
- Sangola  to Shalimar 
- Indore  to New Guwahati 
- Ratlam  to New Guwahati 
- Indore  to Agartala 
- Jalandhar  to Jirania 
- Nagarsol  to New Guwahati 
- Nagarsol  to Chitpur 
- Nagarsol  to New Jalpaiguri 
- Nagarsol  to Naugachia 
- Nagarsol  to Fatuha 
- Nagarsol  to Baihata ; and
- Nagarsol  to Malda Town 
No Kisan Rails has been introduced through PPP arrangements so far.
Since the launch of first Kisan Rail service on 7th August 2020 and upto 22nd January 2021, Indian Railway have operated 157 Kisan Rail services, transporting approximately fifty thousand tonnes of perishables including fruits and vegetables.
Potential circuits for movement of vegetables, fruits and other perishables are being identified in consultation with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Agriculture/Animal Husbandry/Fisheries Departments of State Governments. The assessment is being done on the basis of seasonal availability of these items, so as to obtain efficiency and economies of scale. Commodities booked via Kisan Rail trains are charged at ‘P’-scale of parcel tariff. 50% subsidy in freight, which is borne by Ministry of Food Processing Industries  under the “Operation Greens ” Scheme, is being granted on transportation of fruits and vegetables through Kisan Rail Services.
No Reefer Rail Container or Refrigerated Parcel Van has been procured for this purpose so far. However, temperature controlled Perishable Cargo Centres have been established at Nashik, Singur, New Azadpur, Raja Ka Talab/Varanasi, Ghazipur and Fatuha. In addition, cold storage Reefer Park has been developed at Inland Container Depot, Dadri and a cold storage facility has been established at Rai, Sonipat.
In order to increase food chain supply, Railways have withdrawn the busy season surcharge applicable on food grains, till further orders. Besides, the freight of food grains has been kept stable from 01.04.2015. As a result of these measures the loading of food grains has increased from 27.69 million tonnes during April to December in 2019-2020, to 50.47 million tonnes during corresponding period of 2020-2021. The priority in rake allotment accorded for transportation of food-grains has also been upgraded from ‘D’ to ‘B’ category to ensure timely supply of rakes.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Railways
DAK ADALAT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS RELATING TO POSTAL SERVICES
Ahmedabad, 25-03-2019
Department of Post proposes to hold Dak Adalat for Settlement of grievances relating to Postal services. Dak Adalat for 1st Quarter will be held at 10:30 hours onwards on 28.03.2019  at O/o the Postmaster General, Head Quarter Region, Speed Post Bhavan, Shahibaug, Ahmedabad-380004.
The Postmaster General will hear each complainant individually and settle the problem of public on the spot. The idea of the above stated Adalat is to give a personal hearing and settlement of problems of the Public on the spot.
(Visitor Counter : 151
Ministry of Defence
Surgeon Vice Admiral Rajat Datta takes over as Director General Armed Forces Medical Services
Surgeon Vice Admiral Rajat Datta assumed the charge of Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services on 01 Jan 2021.
Prior to assuming the present appointment, the Flag Officer held the post of DGMS  and Comdt, Army Hospital  Delhi Cantt & Col Comdt.
He is an alumnus of Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and after completing his MBBS in 1982, was commissioned into AMC on 27 Dec 1982.
V Admiral Rajat Datta had been holding the prestigious appointment of Comdt AFC, New Delhi. He was also Addl. DGMS  New Delhi. He had been holding the appointment of MG Med, HQ Central Command and Comdt, CH  Lucknow. He is a renowned teacher and in addition to being the Professor of Cardiology is also an examiner for several Universities and Post Graduate Medical Institutions in India.
The Flag Officer is appointed as Honorary Surgeon to the President of India from 01 Feb 2020. He is a Fellow of Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, USA.
For his dedication and devotion to the service he was awarded VSM in 2005, SM  in 2014 and AVSM in 2017.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
NCW launches Digital Shakti 4.0 focussing on making women digitally skilled and aware
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- Digital Shakti started in June 2018 to help women across the nation to raise the awareness level on the digital front
- Through this project, over 3 Lakh women across India have been made aware of cyber safety tips and tricks
- It is helping women in reporting & redressal mechanisms, data privacy and usage of technology for their benefits.
The National Commission for Women  launched the fourth phase of Digital Shakti Campaign, a pan-India project on digitally empowering and skilling women and girls in the cyberspace, yesterday. In line with its commitment to create safe spaces for women and girls online, Digital Shakti 4.0 is focused on making women digitally skilled and aware to stand up against any illegal/inappropriate activity online. NCW launched it in collaboration with CyberPeace Foundation and Meta.
While addressing the audience Smt Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, NCW mentioned the continuous efforts of the Commission for empowering women in every sphere across the nation. She said, “This new phase will prove to be a milestone in ensuring safe cyber spaces for women. Digital Shakti has been accelerating the digital participation of women and girls by training them to use technology to their advantage and to keep themselves safe online. I believe the project will continue to contribute towards the larger goal of fighting cyber violence against women and girls and make internet a safer space for them."
Smt Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, NCW addressing at the launch the fourth phase of Digital Shakti Campaign
The launch was followed by an interactive panel discussion on “Safe Spaces Online Combatting Cyber-enabled Human Trafficking & Combatting Other forms of Online Violence” in order to provide keen opinions from experts from the Industry, Government, and Academia to address the issue of online women safety from all tangents and provide whole approach to ensure better women safety online.
Padma Shri Sunitha Krishnan, General Secretary, Prajwala, Mr Ashutosh Pande, Senior Research Officer, NCW, Pavan Duggal, Advocate Supreme Court of India and Advisor, CPF, Veerendra Mishra, AIG, SISF, Madhya Pradesh Police and Advisor, NCW, Preeti Chauhan, Director-Operations, CPF participated in the discussion.
Digital Shakti started in June 2018 to help women across the nation to raise the awareness level on the digital front, to build resilience, and fight cyber-crime in the most effective ways. Through this project, over 3 Lakh women across India have been made aware of cyber safety tips and tricks, reporting & redressal mechanisms, data privacy and usage of technology for their benefits.
The third phase of the program was started in March 2021 with the Launch at Leh by NCW Chairperson in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Shri Radha Krishna Mathur & Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, MP, Ladakh. In the third phase, a Resource Center was also developed under the project to provide information on all the avenues of reporting in case a woman faces any cyber crime.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Special Trains to be operated for Movement of Stranded Persons across the Country, due to Lockdown Restrictions to fight COVID-19
Union Ministry of Home Affairs  has issued an order to allow the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons, stranded at different places across the country, by special trains to be operated by Ministry of Railways .
MoR would designate nodal officer for coordinating with State/ UTs for their movement. It would also issue detailed guidelines for sale of tickets; for social distancing and other safety measures to be observed at train stations, train platforms and within the trains.
Click here to see the Official Communication to States/UTs